Who or What are Secular
Franciscans?
The Secular Franciscan Order is not an organization like the Knights
of Columbus, the Confraternity, or the St. Vincent De Paul Society.
In fact it is not an apostolate it is a Franciscan Order approved by
the Church.

The
Secular Franciscans Order is a Way of Life for men and women,
married or single, and secular clergy who are called to take an
active part in the mission of Christ to bring "the good news of
salvation" to the world.

Francis was the founder of three orders
FRANCIS, the saint known and loved the world over, "discovered"
Jesus. He found Him in the Gospel, saw Him in the poor and
suffering. Francis made up his mind to identify himself with his
crucified Lord. Saint Francis attained this marvelous ideal by
making the holy Gospel, in every detail, the rule and standard of
his life.

Others wanted to live as Francis lived, men and women, married and
single. Eventually, his followers were gathered into three distinct
Orders of the Church. The First Order was for men
(brothers and priests, called friars); the Second Order was for
cloistered nuns (Poor Clares); and the Third Order was for lay men
and women, married or single, and the secular clergy. Francis made
the Gospel, with Christ Crucified at its center, the supreme norm of
life for all his followers. He gave each of the three Orders a
written rule, which were summaries of the Gospel and guidelines to
its perfect observance. But there is a difference between them. The
first two are religious orders. Their members take the vows of
poverty, chastity, and obedience, and leave their homes to live in
communities. The third is a secular order, whose members make
promises of commitment and remain in their own homes. Yet they are
motivated and formed by the same spirit of Saint Francis to fulfill
the ideals and responsibilities of their state of life within the
faith-community of the Church.

Francis
formed his third order because of circumstances that he had not
foreseen. As he preached penance in one place after another, devout
lay persons who were bound by family responsibilities begged to be
taught a more perfect way of life. He showed them how they must lead
the Gospel life at home and at their work, and spread the Gospel
teaching by word and example among their neighbors, in imitation of
the poor and suffering Christ. These lay people were known as
"Brothers and Sisters of Penance." They zealously practiced the
lessons Francis had taught them concerning prayer, humility,
peacemaking, self-denial, fidelity to the duties of their state, and
above all charity. Like Francis himself, they cared for lepers and
outcasts with the greatest compassion. They guided themselves always
by the holy Gospel, which they pondered and prayed over constantly.
These groups, called fraternities, included Christians from every
walk of life: clergy and laity, men and women, married and single,
poor and rich, old and young, illiterate and learned. So many joined
these fraternities that they wrought wonders in eradicating the
great moral and social evils of the day, especially greed and
hatred. Pope Honorius III, in 1221, approved the Brothers and
Sisters of Penance as a secular order in the Catholic Church.

ORDO FRANCISCANUS SAECULARIS (OFS)
The Secular Franciscan Order is a community of Catholic men and
women, of any of the Rites in communion with Rome (Latin, Byzantine,
Melkite, etc.), in the world who seek to pattern their lives after
Christ in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Secular Franciscans
are tertiaries, or members of the Third Order of St. Francis founded
by St. Francis of Assisi 800 years ago. Originally known as the
Brothers and Sisters of Penance, the Order is approved and
recognized by the Holy See by the official name of Ordo Franciscanus
Saecularis (OFS). It is open to any Catholic not bound by religious
vows to another Religious Order. It is made up of the laity (men and
women) and also secular clergy (deacons, priests, bishops). Although
Secular Franciscans make a public profession, they are not bound by
public vows as are religious orders living in community. The Third
Order Regular (TOR), which grew out of the Third Order Secular, do
make religious vows and live in community. The Holy See has
entrusted the pastoral care and spiritual assistance of the Secular
Franciscan Order, because it belongs to the same spiritual family,
to the Franciscan First Order (Friars Minor) and Franciscan
ThirdOrderRegular(TOR).

The preaching of St. Francis, as well as his own living example and
that of his first disciples, exercised such a powerful attraction on
the people that many married men and women wanted to join the First
or the Second Order, as is witnessed to in some writings of Francis
addressed to them: the two Letters to the Faithful as well as the
contents of Chapter 23 of the Regula non bullata, which constitute
the basis and spiritual reference for what would become, in time,
The Franciscan Third Order. Francis formed his third order because
of circumstances that he had not foreseen. As he preached penance in
one place after another, devout lay persons who were bound by family
responsibilities begged to be taught a more perfect way of life. He
showed them how they must lead the Gospel life at home and at their
work, and spread the Gospel teaching by word and example among their
neighbors, in imitation of the poor and suffering Christ. St.
Francis found a middle way: he gave them a rule animated by the
Franciscan spirit. In the composition of this rule St. Francis was
assisted by his friend Cardinal Ugolino, laterPopeGregoryIX.

This way of life was quickly embraced by many couples and single men
and women. They zealously practiced the lessons Francis had taught
them concerning prayer, humility, peacemaking, self-denial, fidelity
to the duties of their state, and above all charity. Like Francis
himself, they cared for lepers andoutcasts.

The Rule The earliest Rule was found in the Guarnacci Library in Volterra.
This primitive document is known as the Earlier Exhortation, or the
Earlier Version, of "The Letter to All the Faithful" and was likely
composed before 1215. An expanded version, the Later Exhortation,
was completed by about 1220. Both have been established as having
been composed by St. Francis. Both documents call the lay faithful
to a life of penance, i.e., of turning away from sin and toward God.
In the Earlier Exhortation, Francis describes the elements of the
conversion process and: 1) love God 2) love one's neighbor 3) turn
away from our sinful tendencies 4)"receive the Body Blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ" and, as a result of the above, 5) producing
worthy fruits of penance a renewed life characterized by charity,
forgiveness and compassion toward others.

Structure: The Secular Franciscan Order is a public association in the
Catholic Church. It is divided into fraternities at various levels:
local, regional, national, and international. The OFS is governed by
the universal law of the Church; and by its own: the Rule, the
Constitutions, the Ritual, and the particular statutes. The
interpretation of the Rule and of the Constitutions belongs to the
Holy See. The practical interpretation of the Constitutions, with
the purpose of harmonizing its application in different areas and at
the various levels of the Order, belongs to the General Chapter of
the OFS. The clarification of specific points which require a timely
decision is the competence of the Presidency of the International
Council of the OFS. The International Council of the OFS has its own
proper statutes approved by the General Chapter of the OFS and
confirmed by the Union of the Franciscan Ministers General. National
fraternities have their own statutes approved by the Presidency of
the International Council of the OFS. The regional and the local
fraternities may have their own statutes approved by the council of
the higher level. The fraternities at different levels are animated
and guided by the minister or president, with the council, in
accordance with the Rule, the Constitutions, and their own Statutes.
These offices are conferred through elections. In 2002, the CIOFS
reported a worldwide membership of 400,000 professed members. The
International Fraternity is constituted by the organic union of all
the Catholic Secular Franciscan fraternities in the world. It is
identical to the OFS. It has its own juridical personality within
the Church. It is organized and it functions in conformity with the
Constitutions and its own Statutes. The International Fraternity is
guided and animated by the Minister or President with the
International Council (CIOFS) that has its seat in Rome,Italy.

History of OFS in India
It was during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), who was
an OFS member himself that the OFS was officially implanted in
India. It was his desire to spread OFS everywhere. The pope wrote to
the provincial minister of the capuchins of Lombardy in northern
Italy, that he wished the Third Order to spread farther and farther,
day by day. Let us propagate and propagate the Third Order. Let us
take great pains to do so. It was in this response that the Italian
capuchins, who worked as missionaries in North India during the
later part of the nineteenth century, under took the task of
implanting the Third Order in several of their mission territories.
With the departure of the Italian capuchins, the Third Order
fraternities, established by them, showed signs of decline and
gradually became extinct in North India but proved to be more
successful in South India.

OFS Today: 85 Regions; 715 established local Fraternities; 17,752 members
as on 2013.

ORDER OF FRANCISCANS SECULAR IN KARNATAKASecular Franciscan Order started as early as in 13-2-1927 in St.
Francis Xavier Church, Bijai, Mangalore. Since then, it has spread
far and wide in many of the parishes in all over Karnataka by the
initiatives taken by the Capuchin Friars. The growth of Secular
Franciscan Order was remarkable during the year 2013-2016. There are
as many as 17 new OFS fraternities have been established and the
number of members have increased to 3,144 by April 2016. Due to the
increase in number, two more Regions have been established. The
move is still on to establish many more fraternities as many 20 more
fraternities during 2016-2019. Provincial and his Councillors have
appointed Spiritual Assistants to each region to cater to the
spiritual animation of the various fraternities. There are as many
as 20 friars involved in this animation and cater to the spiritual
needs of the OFS members in various fraternities. Here below is a
list of Spiritual Assistants, office bearers at the regional level
and other details about various local fraternities.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be
consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.